Tax breaks for training call by Chartered Management Institute

The government should offer tax breaks to businesses that provide staff training, according to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

The call is based on the institute’s research showing employers want greater support from the government, with many looking for opportunities to develop skills among their existing employees.

CMI chief executive Ruth Spellman said: “We are calling for tax breaks for businesses investing in their staff and are developing our proposals with key partners. Put simply, employers should be encouraged to develop staff because a depleted organisation with fewer skills to call on is less likely to survive the recession.

“It isn’t a question of bailing out business or massaging unemployment figures, but creating a strategy for survival that reduces redundancy rates over the long-term,” she added.

Her comments come in the wake of a poll of 1,118 senior executives, which asked how business leaders planned to manage the economic downturn.

Key findings

74% wanted more financial support from government to help develop employee skills

57% said flexible working regulations must be applied across the whole workforce